Pending home sales dropped in September

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Pending U.S. home sales fell 4.6 percent in September, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.

The forward-looking index of sales dropped from a strong 93.5 reading in August to 89.2. A year ago, the September index stood at 87.8, the report said.

"The month-to-month weakening in pending home sales is understandable, but because the index remains above year-ago levels it means we're still in a broad period of stabilization," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.

The Pending Housing Sales Index rose 3.7 in the west to 113.6 in the month, 39.5 percent above September 2007. The index in the Midwest fell 0.7 percent to 8.3. In the South, the index also fell, down 7.9 percent to 89.0. The Northeast PHSI fell 16.8 percent to 66.4.

Yun called for the government to remain "focused on housing."

"The depth of the recession depends entirely on housing," he said. "With sufficient housing stimulus, the recession will be shallow. If government actions stay focused on housing, the cost to the Treasury would be much less that the potential losses in the nation's output and income in a severe recession," he said.